Do You Have the Time? Part 2 (cont'd)

No one can create more time, but we can learn to wisely manage the time we have. In just a few minutes, Pastor Paul Shepherd shares his Destined for Victory message, Do You Have the Time? But first, he's been kind enough to join me in the studio. Pastor, if the last 12 months have taught us anything, it's that storms, even pandemics, are going to touch our lives. But as you know, many listening today are dealing with the effects of a terrible time in our world, and our heart, of course, goes out to them. But first, why don't you share a word of encouragement with us, and how we can learn to navigate these storms of life.

Absolutely. In Matthew 7, and I know most Bible readers are very familiar with it, Jesus talks about the fact that there are two different ways you can build your life. And he says you can build like the guy who built his house on the sand, or you can build like the guy who builds on the rock. And the fact of the matter is, I'm trying through the Bible. I'm trying through this series and through this resource this month to help people understand storms are inevitable. And some people see that as as unfortunate.

I don't know that I do. Jesus just stated it quite matter of factly. He said storms are coming. I noticed this time when I was putting this booklet together, Jesus didn't hint anything about if you live right, you won't have to worry about storms.

You know, when I hear people preach like that, I'm like, what Bible are you are you preaching from? Jesus said storms are coming. He said the storm is going to blow on both types of houses.

The difference is the impact it has. And so if we will build right, we're going to see the ability of God to keep us even in the midst of storms like what we're all going through. And the time to prepare is before the storm comes. Absolutely.

Absolutely. The best time to prepare for any war is in the time of peace. And the best time to prepare for a storm is right now. Because even if you're in one now, you need to retrofit and make sure your life is built firmly on the rock who is Jesus Christ.

Because more storms are coming, but his plan is for us to endure and survive through them. Thanks for those words of encouragement, Pastor Paul. Friends, Pastor Paul would like to send you the booklet he was just talking about, Built on a Solid Foundation.

This is a great companion guide to his message from earlier this month, Storm Proof Your Life. And it's our gift to you by request for your generous support. Call 855-339-5500 to make your gift over the phone. Or mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538.

Of course, you can also make a safe and secure donation on our website, PastorPaul.net. We all have 24 hours in a day, no more and no less. But we can maximize our time by getting rid of things and sometimes the people that waste our time.

Earlier this month on Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul shared the four keys to handling money God's way. You've got to make sure you get rid of eliminating purposeless time consumers. Those can be activities that are unfruitful, unprofitable. Sometimes it is people having put their stuff on your plate.

Some of you all still haven't gotten free enough from other people, but I declare that's a freedom you've got to believe God for. Don't let people fill up your plate with unprofitable activity. I really need you to do this. Sorry, boo. I can't.

For me, that's not part of my calling. Now, a one-time thing, you need to help somebody out of a crisis, whatever. But you know as well as I do, there are some people in your life who will dump their whole dump truck in your yard. If you let it, you're in the house of your life just doing what you do, and you're here outside, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, and you look out the window of your life and one of your raggedy relatives is backing up that dump truck full of junk. The top goes up and all their stuff come piling into your yard, and then they drive off. And now you've got a yard full of their junk that they want you to do something with. What you're going to have to learn to do is call in your life, this is an analogy, call 1-800-GOT-JUNK and set up a time where they're going to come, say there's a bunch of stuff in my yard I didn't put there, and I need it removed. Call them people who backed it up, say if you want any of this stuff, you need to be here by 3 o'clock, because after that it will not exist.

And I'm serious, don't let people dictate your schedule. Jesus didn't let it happen. He'll deliver the man who was full of demons. Remember that story of the man running around, had legions of spirits, when Jesus got him free, the Bible says he was sitting there with Jesus clothed and in his right mind, and Jesus is about to leave and go on and the man said, please let me go with you.

Please let me go with you, I'll share everywhere you go, I can be your warm up act, I can share what you did for me. Jesus told him no. How'd Jesus tell somebody no?

Easy, this man isn't supposed to be on my agenda. I did for him what I was called to do, and then look what he told the man, he said you go back home, you go to your home region, you go to your sphere of influence, and you share with them what I did for you, meanwhile I'm going on to the things the father has for me. Don't let people tag along and drain you as they go.

You've got to be able to shrink your debt, and by that, where time is concerned, it means purposeless activity, you've got to release yourself, and you've got to not feel guilty as you do it. Do it and say this is the will of God, that I don't let you unload on me, because at the end of the day everybody's got to bear their own burdens. Sure you help people when the Lord teaches you to help them, but don't become an enabler of people's dysfunction.

It's not God's will for you. Some of you have adult children. Watch their kids when it's convenient for you, but be careful. Don't become a built-in babysitter if that's not God's call on you. If you feel like this is for this season, this is what the Lord wants me to do, to help my children who are loving God, who are doing productive things. But some of y'all got raggedy kids who ain't going to do nothing but go out and make some more raggedy kids. I know that hurts. I'm going to pass it. Call them my kids raggedy, and my grandkids too.

He's so cold. I'm trying to help you now. If your kids aren't living for the Lord, aren't doing right things with their time and their abilities, they're not in school, those who aren't working yet, or they're not working gainfully when they could be, or not out seeking gainful employment, and all you're doing is freeing them up to go live a raggedy life, it's not God's will. There was a season of three years when we lived right next door to Meredith's parents, right next door, and it's the row houses in Philly. You could just walk out our front door, walk two steps, go over to Bannister, and you were on their porch. Soon as we moved in, she came over and looked at the wall, she said, now look. She told us nicely, but she wanted it to be clear, just because I'm right next door does not mean that I'm the built-in babysitter.

Make an appointment request and wait for the response before you go make your plans. That was right. That was smart. So look at the things that are purposeless time consumers, and make sure that you're not allowing them to consume time that God has given you to do something more important. Number three, save regularly. Now we know what that means in terms of money, we covered that in the money part of the series, but what does it mean to save time regularly? It means to maximize the limited time you have.

I save time by maximizing the limited time I have. In other words, I can't do anything about lost opportunities in the past, about wasted time. Some of you can look at whole seasons of your life in the past and say, man, did I blow that. Time when you should have gotten the college knocked out and you didn't do it. Time you could have gotten on the track for that promotion and you didn't do it.

You know the kinds of things I'm talking about. When you look back, you say, oh, if I had that back. Well, you don't have that back, but you can maximize the time you have left. Here's the way it's put in Ephesians 5 16, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

Making the most of every opportunity, Ephesians 5 16. That means buying back time. One translation says redeeming the time. How do you redeem time? Redeem means to buy back. You once had it, but you lost it.

Now to get it, you got to pay for it. Buy back time. In other words, maximize what you have left. Do double time.

I'm behind in the race, but if I pick up my pace, I can still get where I need to be. Bishop Tyrone Cushman, years ago, I heard him preaching in Philadelphia and he gave an illustration from his own life. He grew up in one of those old-fashioned families, old-fashioned parents. You young folk won't be able to relate to this at all, but some of the old heads will be able to relate to this. Old-fashioned where when the daddy came home from his job at the factory or wherever, he'd come in and he'd wash up and then he'd come out the bathroom and go to the table and everything that had his last name was supposed to be at the table.

This is old-fashioned, old-fashioned. He's going to sit at the head of his table and all the children's supposed to be there at the table. Young folk, there was a day in America where families ate together. They sat down at the table at the same time, prayed the same prayer and ate. Their grace wasn't even customized. It was always the same grace. Whichever grace y'all had at your house, it was the same. Everybody was supposed to be there. When I went to my friend's house, I knew what they were going to say at the table.

We all sit there and they all said the same thing. Be present at our table, Lord. Be here and everywhere adored. These mercies blessed and grant that we may feast in fellowship with thee. Amen.

Dig in. Little kids, God is great. God is good and we thank him for our food. By his hand, we all are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen. Eat.

It was systematic back in the old days. Now folk come to the table and they feel like it. If they feel like, take my plate, going over here, going over here. I'm Facebooking. I'm talking to everybody. I'm talking all around the world.

Little raggedy people everywhere in the world. Don't go away. We're only about halfway through today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. If you love what you're hearing today, I want to encourage you to subscribe to Pastor Paul on YouTube to watch some of his best video clips. For more details and links to all of his social media, be sure to visit pastorpaul.net. At pastorpaul.net, you can listen to recent messages on demand or find a variety of resources at our online store. Now here's Pastor Paul again with the rest of today's message.

Do you have the time? Cushman said he grew up in one of those homes where it was serious consequences if the Cushman children were not at the table when Daddy Cushman got out the bathroom from washing up from work. Serious consequences. Back in those days where the parents would say things like, when the street lights come up, you better be in this house. Oh, come on some of you street lights folk. When the street lights up, don't be thinking about coming, don't be on your way back. You're supposed to be in the house.

If that light is shining bright and you are not in the house. So anyway, he came from one of those families and he said we were blocks away at the playground playing baseball and he said the game got good that day. Game got really good that day and my brother and I, we out there playing baseball and he said in the middle of a really good game, panic struck me. And I didn't have a watch on and I looked at the sky and I wondered what time it was. He said I ran over to my brother. He said by the time I got to him I was already crying. He said what time is it, what time is it? And his brother didn't have a watch and they found somebody who had a watch and they told him what time it was and they were just a few minutes away from Daddy's time at the table and they were blocks from their house. Cushman said I just cried, I just cried.

I could feel the spanking already. He said but my brother grabbed me by my shirt and said shut up man, we can make it but we got to run all the way. When I have time for all this crying, all this weeping, all this wailing, get yourself in the wind. He said he grabbed me by my shirt and we started running. I'm running and crying, trying to straighten up.

He said we hit the steps, we hit that door, walked in and we heard my father finishing up washing up in the bathroom and we knew our lives were spared. Well the Lord sent me here to grab some of y'all by your shirt and to tell you that you wasted a whole bunch of time doing a bunch of silly things but you can still make it if you come on and run all the way. The Lord's pastor came to grab you and say come on, it's time for you to run.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You can make it but you got to run all the way. I want somebody to get running in your feet. Stop bellyaching about stuff you can't change. Get running in your feet. Put you on some good Nike's or Adidas or something and spend the rest of your life running in the direction of your purpose. I came to run you, you can make it but you can't make it crying.

Can't make it bellyaching. You got to run all the way. Make the most of every opportunity.

One more thing and I'm done. Fourth principle for managing your time God's way is to spend it wisely. What's that mean? The Bible says in Ephesians 5 17, see verse 16 says making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. The very next verse says therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is. You got to get smarter at this season of your life.

That's what that means. Spend the rest of your time more wisely than you spent your previous years. Don't just get older. Get smarter. See you can't help getting older but you can get smarter.

And let me help you understand something. Just because you're getting older don't mean you're getting smart. You do know you can be an old fool.

I hope you understand that. That you don't automatically gain wisdom with years. You have to be intentional about getting wiser. That's why the Bible said teach us to number our days. That we may apply our hearts to wisdom. It's a choice you make.

It's not automatic. I know some old fool so do you. Lived all these years still don't know anything. You have to be intentional about getting smarter. Three ways that you can spend your time more wisely. Number one, maintain focus. Maintain focus.

Do the right things with the time you have left. Maintain your focus. Number two, maintain your balance. Stay fresh and sharp.

As I talked about earlier in the message. Make sure that you are not going at it hard, so hard that you are losing your edge. Keep your edge sharp. See if you're going to cut down a tree at a certain point you got to stop chopping and you got to sharpen the saw. Or else you'll be whacking and whacking and whacking and not making any progress because the edge has gotten dull through the activity and you have to stop and sharpen the saw.

Some of you have to do that with your life. You're very dull and you can tell when you're dull because you get on edge. You're irritable.

People around you don't want to be around you anymore because you've just overdone. And you got to stop and sharpen yourself and get your attitude better. You need to monitor yourself. You need to know. Check it up and then have good godly people around you who can tell you, you know your attitudes stink today, right?

People who love you but don't tell you the truth. You need to go somewhere and get in the bed. You need to go somewhere and rest. You need to go somewhere and play a game. You need to... When last time you went bowling. I mean something just...

I don't care what it is. Go somewhere and do something to get the edge off of you. And it's not always prayer and fasting. Sometimes it's just natural rest and relaxation and have fun. Crack up. Laugh. Tidy those sour Christians.

So holy can't even crack a smile. Maintain balance. And then finally maintain discernment. Discernment. Not every good use of time is a god use of time. God doesn't want you to do everything at the wrong time. Sometimes you do the right thing at the wrong time, you get the wrong results.

You got to do the right thing at the right time. So have discernment as you live your life. But you ought to be getting more wise.

I'm encouraging you. Make sure wisdom is characterizing your life as you get older. You can't help getting older, but you can help getting wiser. You who are like me, getting older, moving up in these years, don't try to be young. You're not young anymore. You got to adjust to the season.

Recalibrate. David said, I was young, now I'm old. I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg bread. When I was a young person, I only focused on the second part of the sentence. I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg bread. I used to claim that.

Oh, God's going to come through all the time. Now that I'm older, I look at the first part. I was young, now I'm old. Come on some of y'all that's moving up through the years like me. Some of y'all are older than me.

We're moving on through the years. I was young. I'm not going to try to compete with young folk.

Don't do that. Some of y'all still trying to claim your youth. Stop it. Used to be young. You're not young anymore. Stop it. Don't compete with young folk.

You'll lose when it comes to strength and energy. When I was a young person singing in the choirs, playing the music at the church, sometimes we thought the old folk were sitting on us. Then they up there singing and swaying and carrying on. And the old folk just sitting there. And I used to think they were sitting on us. I said, man, young people gave our lives to the Lord and they sitting on us. I'm now old enough to know they weren't sitting on us. They were tired. That's why they sat there and just waved.

They just waved. Go ahead, baby. They wasn't into the song, but they said I can't be getting up and down and up and down.

Every time y'all sing a song, I got to get back up. No, I can't do all that. Oh, when you get older, get smarter. Get smarter. Don't compete with young folk.

Just encourage them. They got the strength, got the energy. Don't get intimidated by their strength. I see these young, handsome, virile young men. Y'all go forth.

Looking all sharp. Just go conquer the world. I got my own world to conquer.

It's an older world than it used to be. But I'm going to send y'all forth. I'm going to disciple some of y'all in your strength that you go forth. Sisters, don't hate on little young girls because they got that little cute figure you used to have. Don't hate on them. You had it. You mad at them because they got it. Huh, think she all that. No, you think she all that.

Get mad at her because she cute. Y'all both say she saving the six. You saving the 16. Both saved.

Both going to heaven. That's why I tell you, when you think you're fine, take your pictures. That's what I tell everybody.

When you think you are looking as good as you ever going to look, take your pictures so that later on when people don't think you used to be the bomb, you can whip them out. Look at that. That was me right there. But listen, the young folk might have the strength, but if you doing this right, you gaining more wisdom as you get older.

That's the thing I love about it. I can't run with y'all in terms of strength and energy, but oh, you better pull up a chair and listen to me talk because I got something to tell you. Some of us can say through many dangers, toils and snares, we've already come. We know how to get you through what you got to go through. Some of the young folks say, woo, pray for me, I'm going through hell. Well see, I'm old enough to tell you how to get out of hell. We all been through hell, but God brought us through. God brought us out.

God made a way and you need to talk to us because we coming back from where you going. And so spend your time wisely, making sure you maintain your focus and your balance and your discernment and you'll see that God will be pleased with your usage of time. Thanks so much for joining us for today's message. Do you have the time to find out more about the Destined for Victory ministry or to contact us for prayer? Be sure to stop by our website, pastorpaul.net. One last time, pastorpaul.net. If you are saved by grace through faith, then the Lord has already given you one or more spiritual gifts.

Whether you're in touch with them or not, whether you have identified them or not, they are there. That's tomorrow in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Assessing the Shape You're In. Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory. .